Aftershock
by Serenity Dragonrider
Summary: Serenity is emotionally recovering from being kidnapped by Hael (read Fattal Attraction by Splendidguy44). All her friends and family work together to help her as she suffers from constaint panic attacks and nightmares. They succeed, but then her past comes back to haunt her and she's forced to do the bravest and most selfless act of her life and it may cost her just that.
1. Chapter 1

Aftershock

_"Life is a journey for us all. We all face trials. We all have ups and downs. All of us are human. But we are also the masters of our fate. We are the ones who decide how we are going to react to life." _― Elizabeth Smart

Chapter 1

It was the beginning of summer on Berk. The Vikings were already out fishing, gathering food for winter. The dragons were helping out in anyway. Hiccup and Toothless were overseeing everything. They both kept looking up at the sky excitedly. It was summer and the Draconians were due to arrive and spend the summer at their summer castle on Dragon Island. The whole village were looking forward to seeing their allies again. The dragons were excited about seeing Serenity again, and were wondering if she had fully recovered after being kidnapped and very nearly killed by a vengeful Changewing.

But the day came and went without any sign of them. Hiccup and Toothless exchanged a glance. They usually showed up the very first day of summer.

"Do you thing we should contact them Toothless?" Hiccup asked. Toothless gave a nod. Hiccup then turned and went back inside. He sat at the table and pulled out a sheet of parchment and a charcoal pen. He quickly wrote a note to the Draconians.

_Hey Re, _

_Since you haven't arrived yet we were all wondering if anything was wrong that's keeping you all from coming up. We're all waiting for your arrival. _

_Sincerely, Hiccup. _

He rolled up the parchment and left the house. Toothless was waiting for him with Sharpshot, a small, green Tiny Terror that Hiccup had trained to carry messages similar to Draconia's Hermes Dragons. Hiccup tied the scroll to Sharpshot's leg.

"Take this to Re at the Draconian Castle," Toothless said in Dragontongue.

"Yes of course, right away sir," Sharpshot said eagerly. He spread his tiny wings and took off. At that moment Stormfly landed with Astrid and Hegan on her back. Serenity had graciously gave her the baby sling she made for Edelweiss. Astrid dismounted.

"No sign of them?" she asked.

"No, I just sent them a message with Sharpshot," Hiccup said. "All we can do is wait."

And they did just that. They waited for two more days before Sharpshot returned with Re's answer. The Tiny Terror found Hiccup in the forge. He paused in his work to read the replay. He read it to himself then read it aloud to Toothless who was sitting nearby.

_Ah sorry if we worried you. I don't plan on coming to Dragon Island this summer. Serenity is not doing so well. She suffers from paranoia and is easily prone to panic attacks. She's convinced that someone else is out there plotting to kidnap her, or something equally terrifying. I want to keep her behind my walls where she can't be harmed, at least until we find someway to help her. So we plan to stay home this summer. We will see you all next year._

_Sincerely, King Re. _

At the bottom of the note was the Draconian crest. Toothless let out a sad croon. He was really looking forward to seeing the Draconians. Not to mention he was also worried. Serenity almost never got scared, at least not to the degree the Dragon King was referring to. Toothless figured she must have had quite a frightening experience when she had been held hostage by Hael. Toothless nudged Hiccup's arm and gave him his big sad eyes.

"Well bud, looks like we have to do without them this year," Hiccup said. He folded the message and put it in his pocket. He turned back to the task he had been working on.

Latter Hiccup checked up on he friends. They gathered in the Great Hall. When they were there Hiccup read Re's note to all of them. All the dragons groaned in disappointment. Everyone was disappointed. But the disappointment turned to worry.

"So they're not coming at all?" asked Astrid. "Serenity must really be messed up."

"Are we going to help at all?" asked Eret. "Perhaps a visit to Berk will help her."

"Yeah and maybe Gothi will know what to do," said Fishlegs. Hiccup considered.

"I will ask Re," he said finally. "But if he says no, it means no." He got another paper and pen and wrote another note to Draconia.

Re, my friends and I discussed the note you sent. We want to help. Maybe Serenity will feel better if she comes up here. And maybe Gothi will know what to do. Please let us help. She's helped all our dragons and now we want to return the favor. Hiccup.

He rolled the note up and sent Sharpshot on his way with it.

The little dragon returned two days later with Re's reply.

_We asked Serenity if she wanted to come to Berk. She said she will come up if we don't leave her side. I will accept Gothi's help as long as she doesn't hit Serenity with that staff of hers. We will be up there tomorrow evening, Aurora wants to try something. I appreciate your offer. You brought up the very thing that's eating us up. Serenity has helped all of us and saved thousands of lives. The fact we can't help her despite all she's done, it's just hart breaking. We'll fill you in when we get there. Thank you Re. _

Hiccup read this note to everyone in the Great Hall. The dragons cheered up when they heard Serenity was coming to Berk and that they were going to get an opportunity to help her, like she helped them. They grew excited. Everyone went back to their daily activities. The dragons all gathered under the Golden Apple Tree which was growing on a large ledge way up near Gothi's house, behind the Great Hall. The tree was way bigger than a normal apple tree, even bigger than an oak tree. Everything on it was a rich golden color; the leaves, the bark, the wood, the apples, even the shade. The only thing that wasn't gold was the blossoms which were a blue white color. The trunk was big enough that a small bed room could be placed inside it. Serenity had grown the tree in her early years on Berk. It was one of her most valuable possessions and she decided to give it to the dragons of Berk. This was one of the reasons they were so determined to help her.

They grazed on the apples while they talked among themselves.

"It must have been really scary for her when she was kidnapped," Stormfly said. "She's never been paranoid before."

"I wonder what Hael did to her before we got there," Hookfang said.

"She got stung by a Speed Stinger," said Meatlug. "And that's terrifying enough, not to mention painful."

"Yeah but what else happened?" asked Hookfang.

"I don't think this will be a very good thing to ask her," Toothless said. "She's already been through that experience once, I don't want her to have to relive it." The other dragons murmured in agreement. They grazed on apples until sundown and their riders came looking for them. They all fell asleep already thinking up ideas on how to help Serenity.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next evening the village was back to looking up at the sky for the Draconians. Hiccup had already asked Gothi if she could help Serenity. Gothi said she would. She wasn't too fond of the Dragon Healer. Serenity was very close to the dragons, even before she had been kidnapped. She wouldn't give them up for anything. Gothi found it out of the ordinary that a human would love dragons like family, and not humans.

At sunset the Draconians finally arrived. The riders and their dragons gathered in the plaza. The dragons were just wearing their crowns and saddles. Windwalker's bran new crown was black with a silver hurricane shape on the forehead. The four dragons landed and Chris and Serenity dismounted. The first thing the dragons noticed was that Re hadn't been kidding, Serenity did look very scared. She stayed super close to Tenor's side and her green eyes kept darting around as though afraid she was being watched by her next kidnapper. But the biggest thing they noticed was that she had cut her golden hair, clear up passed her shoulders. This was very odd as she usually had her hair go down to her shoulder blades.

"Hey Re," Hiccup said.

"Hello," Re said.

"Were are the little ones?" asked Astrid.

"They're on Dragon Island already," said Aurora. "Ruby and Harmony have agreed to look after them." Toothless carefully approached Serenity and nuzzled her shoulder. She didn't smile or laugh like she usually did, but she did look relieved. She petted him quietly. Her hand wasn't it's usual soft and smooth, it was cold, clammy and shaky.

"How are you doing?" Toothless asked softly.

"I'm alright," Serenity sighed. "I think." Suddenly Tenor moved his tail slightly making a slithering sound, she jumped, and looked over her shoulder. When she saw what made the sound she calmed down and leaned on Tenor's shoulder. Toothless licked her hand. She petted him again, the shaking had gotten worse.

"How about you go up to the tree, we'll get Gothi and meet you there," Hiccup said.

"Alright," Re said, he sounded tired. "You sure she can do something?"

"It's worth a try isn't it?" Hiccup said.

"I've been told before that Gothi has hit people with her walking stick," Re said.

"Don't worry Re, she won't hit Serenity, you have my word," Hiccup said. Re sighed.

"Okay," he said. He led the others up the hill towards the tree. Hiccup mounted Toothless and flew up to Gothi's house.

Up at the apple tree Serenity stayed right next to Chris. He put his arm around her shoulders, she was still trembling.

"You'll be okay," he said softly. "Nothing's going to happen to you, I promise." Serenity sighed. Being this close to him, it made her feel safer and she stopped shaking. It was when she was alone that the panic attacks came at full force. They often got so bad that she had trouble breathing. She startled very easily and sometimes fainted. But when she was around Chris and the dragons the panic attacks weren't so sever.

At that moment the Berkian riders came up the hill followed by Gothi. They also brought Gobber, as he was the best at translating Gothi's writings. The elder immediately drew in the dirt with her staff. Gobber translated.

"She says she needs everyone to stand back, she wants to know just how bad the panic attacks get. And she says no one can interfere." Re growled and flashed his teeth, but had everyone back off including Chris. The minuet she was by herself Serenity started shaking violently. Her eyes grew wide and afraid. Then Gothi walked up to her. She was going to try and calm the poor girl down. Serenity started to hyperventilate and backed up. She stared at the staff in Gothi's hands, afraid of it. Re was about to interfere when Aurora stopped him.

"Watch," she said. Serenity backed up right to the edge of the cliff. Her foot slipped and she turned to see the sheer drop behind her. She turned to see Gothi still approaching her. She felt trapped. Aurora began muttering to herself.

"Come on, come on, work," she whispered. Suddenly there was a loud crack and Serenity vanished. All that was left was her cowboy hat and a small, sand colored bird with vivid light blue wings. It gave a frightened chirp and flew off.

"What just happened?" asked Fishlegs, as confused the rest of the vikings.

"Well since you all know I have magic now," said Aurora. "Just before we left I put an enchantment on Serenity. When ever she feels trapped, cornered or threatened, she turns into a female mountain blue bird. It allows her to fly away and escape. She can turn back into herself but only when she feels safe enough. It was the only thing I could think of to put her mind a ease after what happened."

"Can't you just remove all memory of what happened?" asked Hiccup.

"Memory spells expire unfortunately," Aurora said. "I want to find a way to permanently clear her mind of all that." Gothi drew in the dirt again.

"She says Serenity won't get any better if you Draconians keep being so overprotective of her," said Gobber. "She says Serenity should spend a night in the tree by herself. The rest of you sleep outside. It will show her that she can still feel safe when there's no one in sight." Re narrowed his eyes. He didn't like leaving Serenity alone, especially at a time like this. All the Draconians exchanged a worried glance. At that moment the bird came back and perched on Toothless's head. Aurora looked at the small bird.

"Serenity, you're going to be spending the night in your tree," she said. "All by yourself." The bird tweeted in surprise. She looked at each individual in turn, as though asking for someone to get her out of this. She chirped desperately.

"You're going to be okay," Aurora said. "We'll be outside the whole time, we won't let anyone get you." The bird flew over and perched on Gothi's helmet. Gothi mistook it for any old bird and swiped at Serenity with her stick. The bird flew off again, frightened. All the dragons hissed. Gothi then realized her mistake and quickly scribbled an apology in the dirt.

Serenity came back after a while and perched on Belch's nose horn, even higher up than before. She did not feel safe enough to turn back into herself. She didn't want to be separated from her family, not ever. Belch lowered his head so Serenity was no longer up high. She looked him in the eye and Belch could sense fear.

"Sorry," he said. "No one will hurt you, I see no reason to hide." Serenity reluctantly hopped onto the ground. She looked at the ground and let out a series of rapid chirps. A second later they realized she was crying. Aurora lowered her head. She gently nuzzled the tiny bird.

"Serenity it's okay," she said soft enough so only Serenity could hear. "You don't have to be afraid. It's just going to be one night, just one. Can you do that for us?" Serenity looked up at her queen. She blinked a few times. Then she nodded. Aurora smiled.

"We won't be far," she promised. Serenity walked to a clear patch of grass and turned back into herself. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Chris stood next to her and she hugged him. After a few minuets she finally started to calm down.

"You think this will work?" Tenor asked Gothi. Gothi nodded confidently.

"If it doesn't we'll try something else," Re said.

"Well, we should let you guys get settled," Hiccup said. "We'll come up tomorrow." With that the Berkians left. Serenity sat in her chair, Chris said in his, and all the dragons laid down in the Dragonnip. Serenity was calming down more and more, but she was far from her normal self. She was very nervous about sleeping by herself. She always had a dragon beside her bed or Chris right next to her. It was especially nerve racking now because she suffered from terrible nightmares. She dreamed about being paralyzed while in mortal danger, and not being able to run, scream, or even wake up.

"Do I really have to sleep by myself?" she asked. They all nodded.

"Just for one night," Re said. "That's all."

"What about my nightmares?" Serenity asked.

"They're just in your head," said Aurora. "Nothing will hurt you." Serenity sighed.

"Okay," she said. "Then can we go to Dragon Island?"

"Yes," Re said. "Weather or not it works, tomorrow we'll go to Dragon Island."

"Alright," Serenity said. She felt a bit better. "Well, I might as well get this over with." She got up and the others followed suit. Chris hugged her again and she held on like it was her only life source. They separated after a few minuets. Then Serenity turned and went into the tree. Chris sat back down.

"I really doubt that this will work," Tenor said, laying down next to Windwalker.

"Well, we don't have a lot of options," Aurora pointed out. "And if this doesn't work, I don't know what else to do."

"What's the worse that can happen?" asked Windwalker.

"Suicide," Re said, glumly. "She feels so trapped that she sees no other option."

"It's so sad," Windwalker said. "After all she's done with her life, all the lives she saved."

"I know," Re agreed. "I wouldn't still be here if it weren't for her."

"Neither would I," Windwalker said. "Nor would a good chunk of my friends."

"I feel like if we hadn't sent her into the woods that day, she wouldn't be like this," Re said.

"We can blame ourselves all we want," Aurora said. "But it won't make her better. We just have to keep trying."

"You've been awfully quiet nephew," Tenor said.

"I'm trying to remember the last time I saw her smile," Chris said. "Or heard her laugh." They all fell silent trying to remember the same thing. All they could remember was sheer terror in her eyes. This started the seed of an idea in Aurora's mind.

"I can't remember the last time she smiled either," Re said. "Must have been months ago."

"What I was forced to say and do to her probably didn't help," Chris said. "I scarred her for life, just like that shovel."

"I was the one who had to shoot her," Windwalker said, grimacing. "She never let us down, and now we're letting her down. It's just not fair."

"This aint over yet," Tenor said. "We're going to fix this, no matter what it takes." They all couldn't agree more. They all turned in for the night, all worried about Serenity.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

That night was complete torture for Serenity. Her nightmares were beyond terrifying. She kept seeing herself back in that cave, unable to move. She kept seeing her guardian dragon, Ruby under Hael's command, walking up to her ready to kill. Every time the out come was different. She saw Ruby fight and kill Harmony, her beautiful feathers all over the cave floor soaked in blood. Serenity had to watch the whole thing. She couldn't move, or scream or wake up. It scared her beyond compare. The images kept changing and getting worse. She saw a young kitten in a corner, a dark figure torturing it. It hissed and swiped its paws at the attacker. It was agony to watch this innocent animal defend itself in vain. Then she heard its hart-breaking cries for help. The dark figure picked the kitten up by the neck hide and threw it around over and over. All Serenity could do is watch, with no escape. She realized at some point that the kitten represented her, helpless and alone. And the dark figure was either Hael, the wolves, or bad humans.

It went on for hours, the never ending torture. Then finally she was able to wake up and it was morning. She sat up and burst into tears, disturbed by the nightmares. She wondered if she would ever be at peace. She's been having these nightmares and panic attacks for ten months now, and there was no end in sight. She soon got a hold of herself and left the room. Chris and the dragons were awake already and waiting for her. When they saw her they stood up and Chris hugged her. She felt so much better now they were awake and she didn't feel so alone anymore.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked her.

"No, not really," Serenity said, her voice muffled by his shoulder. "The nightmares are getting worse." Hearing this the dragons came to the conclusion that the experiment didn't work. Chris and Serenity ended their hug when the Berkians came up the hill with Gothi.

"Any improvement?" asked Astrid.

"Nope," Serenity said. "It made things worse, the nightmares got more terrifying."

"Oh that's unfortunate," Hiccup said. Gothi made them all stand back again to see if there was any improvement. The minuet she was alone Serenity started hyperventilating and shaking again. She automatically turned into a bird and flew into the branches of the tree. She perched on a branch where she could still hear what was going on.

"I might have something that could work," said Toothless. "How about she spends the day with us like she used to. That always makes her happy." Re thought for a moment.

"That might work," Aurora said. "She always spoke so highly of the long hours she spent with you guys under this very tree." At that moment Serenity came back, still a bird, and landed on one of Windwalker's back spines.

"How about it Serenity?" Hookfang asked. "You want to spend the day like we used to, under this tree." Serenity considered. She did remember the old days under the apple tree, talking about totally random things. It felt so long ago. She then flew onto Hookfang's snout. She chirped a merry tune. Then she flew onto the ground and turned back into herself.

"Alright," she said. "Those were very good times."

So the vikings left for their daily activities and Chris and the other Draconians flew to Dragon Island to check on Ruby, Harmony, and the children. Serenity sat in her chair, her mind still going over her nightmares. All the Berkian dragons sat in the Dragonnip around her chair, just like old times.

"I wonder if I'll find a mate someday," Toothless said. "Everyone else has found on, except me."

"You'll find someone," Serenity said, starting to sound like her old self again. She stroked his neck, he purred.

"All those times we spent under this tree," Hookfang said. "And I never imagined that there were two of you."

"Two of me what?" Serenity asked.

"Human who was raised by dragons, and could speak our language," Hookfang said.

"Hey yeah," said Meatlug. "How come you never mentioned Chris before?"

"I thought he was dead," Serenity said. "It's painful enough to relive one loss, but even more so to relive two."

"Oh that makes sense," said Barf. "If he had died in that accident, would you still have gotten married."

"Probably not," Serenity said. "Chris was the only human in the world that I loved so much."

"I can only imagine how surprised you would have been if he turned up on the castle doorstep, had our people not been involved," Toothless said. "He probably would have won the Song war, flown home, and given you all quite a shock."

"I would have thought he was a ghost at first," Serenity said.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Meatlug asked.

"After Chris disappeared I thought, hoped really, that he would come back as a ghost," Serenity said. "I hoped ghosts were real and that both Chris and Ruby would haunt the castle so I could be near them." She leaned in her seat.

"You think he would have stayed at that mountain nest if it hadn't been destroyed?" asked Belch.

"Most likely," said Serenity. "That was his home for ten years."

"Would he still have asked you to marry him?" Stormfly asked.

"I don't know," Serenity said. "He might have asked me to stay in the Draconian Castle and keep myself safe."

"Maybe that nest was meant to be destroyed," Stormfly said. "If it was still standing you might still be alone."

"Yeah and none of that stuff with Hael would have happened," Hookfang blurted out. Serenity cringed and buried her face in her hands.

"Hookfang we were trying to steer her mind away from that," Toothless snapped.

"Oops," said Hookfang. "Sorry." They turned to Serenity, her mind had gone back to her nightmares.

"Are you okay?" Meatlug asked. Serenity was tearing up again.

"Why did that have to happen?" she sobbed. "I never hurt anyone. I don't understand why a dragon would hate me that much." Toothless nuzzled her face.

"You made the assumption that all dragons are good," he said. "And that's just not true. We have our criminals too." Serenity sighed.

"You'll be okay," Toothless said. "I know it was painful."

"You don't know how terrifying it was in that mountain," Serenity said. "I thought I was going to die. I couldn't move at all. Hael kept threatening either me, or one of my family. There was nothing I could do, every time she would leave me alone I thought she was going to go and carry out one of her threats." She started crying harder. Toothless let her cry on him.

"It's okay, It's all over," Toothless said quietly. He thought of a different topic, as he licked her tears away. "Hey I bet Edelweiss is just about ready for dragon riding lessons." Serenity calmed down.

"Yeah, in a year or so," she said. "Black Widow still has a few years before she ready for a rider. Edelweiss will probably learn on Tenor, since he's the same breed."

"That's going to be very exciting," said Stormfly.

"She's already hanging out with the other young dragons," Serenity said, her voice was shaking. "They are pretty good friends."

"Just like you and Chris are," said Barf.

"Yes," Serenity said.

"Do you think she'll get married?"asked Stormfly. "When she's older of course."

"That's up to her," said Serenity. She leaned back into her chair. Toothless laid his head in her lap and she stroked his head.

"Hey how come your hair is shorter?" Hookfang asked.

"Edelweiss kept grabbing it and pulling," Serenity explained. "I cut it so she couldn't grab it anymore, and nor could anyone else."

They talked for several more hours before the dragons' riders called them home. Serenity turned into a bird and flew to Dragon Island. When she got there she landed on the balcony outside her room. She turned back into herself. Windwalker was there dozing off. She woke up.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm alright," Serenity said, she sat in her deck chair. "But I don't know if my nightmares are over."

"Say, I was wondering if you would help me with something," Windwalker said. "I plan to unlock Harmony's titan wing, and you would be a thing for her to rescue." Serenity looked very nervous. She was very familiar with Windwalker's methods for unlocking a dragon's titan wing. Though no one had been hurt or killed, yet, she knew there was still a good chance.

"You'll be perfectly safe," Windwalker said. "You'll either be rescued by Harmony, or me." Serenity let out a breath she forgot she was holding.

"Well, okay," she said.

"The others are waiting in our sparring arena," Windwalker said. Serenity got back up and Windwalker let her clime on. They flew towards the arena and landed on the edge of it. Harmony was in the middle chained to the ground. The other Draconians were on the sides of the arena. Serenity dismounted, Windwalker could feel her shaking.

"You'll be alright," Windwalker said.

"What do I do?" Serenity asked.

"Just stay there," Windwalker said. She picked up a rope, tied in a noose, that was laying near by and looped it around Serenity. The other end of the rope was tied securely to a tree. Windwalker pulled the noose as tight at she could.

"You okay?" She asked Serenity. The dragon healer nodded, still nervous. "Don't worry. If anything goes wrong and Harmony doesn't activate her titan wing, either Tenor or myself will come get you."

"Okay," said Serenity. Windwalker pushed her to the very edge of the wall of the arena and pushed her over the edge. She dangled several feet over a large fire pit that was ablaze. Then she lit a fire right underneath the rope, slowly burning it apart. Winwalker flew into the arena and turned her attention to Harmony.

"Right, Harmony, your task is to prevent Serenity from falling into the fire," Windwalker said. "You can do that right?"

"Why did you have to bring her into this?" Harmony asked. "She's still recovering from her last near death experience."

"Yeah, I know," Windwalker said. "She's going to need all the help she can get. If you just break the chains you can go get her." Harmony roared in outrage. She pulled on the chains. The other Draconians watch anxiously. Windwalker had assured them Serenity would come out of this fine. Suddenly the rope around Serenity began to break. She started to hyperventilate again.

"Help!" she cried. Harmony tried even harder to break free. Windwalker activated her own titan wing and focused all her energy on Harmony.

"Come on everyone else here has unlocked their titan wing," she taunted. "You're the only one left." The rope broke further. Harmony was desperate now. She put all her strength into breaking out. Then she changed just as the rope broke. Harmony broke the chain with ease and flew up. She managed to catch Serenity just before she hit the flames. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Serenity was brought safely to the ground. Serenity clutched Harmony, coughing the smoke out of her lungs. The white dragon nuzzled her.

"It's okay, you're safe," she whispered. "I got you." Serenity opened her eyes and shakily stood up. She blinked in surprise when she saw Harmony's new form.

She was no longer all white. Her belly scales were amethyst purple. The horizontal ridges on her underbelly now formed upside down V's. Every other ridge extended the new purple scales in a rib like pattern all down her body. Her horns had grown longer. The whip part of her tail had grown also, and turned amethyst purple. A purple obtuse triangle had appeared under each of her eyes, which went well with her sapphire blue eyes. An amethyst purple arc opened up on her forehead. Harmony's wings looked different from the other Whippertail's titan wings. The edge had turned the same purple as the rest of her, and purple lines extended towards the other edge. The lines made it look like she had the traditional dragon wings.

"Wow, Harmony that's a pretty color," Serenity said. She traced the triangle under the white dragon's left eye. The others ran up to them.

"Great job, both of you," Windwalker said.

"Thank you, Windwalker," Harmony said, shuffling her feathers.

"Whenever you want to activate your titan wing," Windwalker said. "Remember what you felt today. Can you do that?"

"Yes ma'am," Harmony said, feeling so proud of herself. She spread her wings to get a better look at them. It was then that she found an additional characteristic of her titan wing. When her wings hit the sunlight her feathers sparkled like new fallen snow on a sunny day.

"Wow, sparkly," she said. She folded her wings back up Serenity gave her a big hug.

After everyone calmed down from that excitement the adult dragons left to bring their hatchlings in from the tide pools. Serenity and Chris flew up to their room where Edelweiss was taking a nap. The sun was setting. Serenity sat on the bed, she was not looking forward to going to sleep. At that moment all the adult dragons landed on the balcony. Chris and Serenity went outside to see what they wanted.

"Can we help you?" Chris asked.

"I think I may have a way to cure Serenity's paranoia," Aurora said. "But first I must know exactly what it is that she sees in her head." She beaconed to Serenity who stepped forward. Aurora sat on her haunches so she could use her front paws.

"This won't hurt," she said. "But it will be scary." She put her paw on Serenity's forehead. "Close your eyes." Serenity did what she was told. All her nightmares flashed before her eyes and the queen saw everything. She saw all the terrible nightmares of Serenity being paralyzed, unable to do anything while Ruby killed Harmony mercilessly. Aurora also saw the kitten being tortured by a dark entity and knew what it meant. Serenity started panicking.

"Please, make it stop," she whimpered. "I can't take it anymore."

"Stay with me we're, almost through," Aurora said. She could see why the images scared her but she needed to see everything. Serenity began shaking violently. She couldn't escape the nightmares. The images played over and over, getting more and more intense. Finally Aurora let go, but she was still stuck in the images.

"Serenity," she said worried. "Serenity, wake up." She nudged her and Serenity woke up. Aurora hugged her.

"Hey, I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know that was scary but you did good. I saw all I needed. You've had those nightmares for ten months?"

"Yes," Serenity sobbed. "I can't wake up. I'm forced to see those images the whole time. I don't know what to do."

"It's okay," Aurora said.

"What exactly did you see?" Re asked.

"That is not important," said Aurora, as Serenity went back to Chris's side. "What's important is that her mind is full of negative thoughts. They've been there for ten months. Chris will you watch her tonight? If she has nightmares wait for her to wake up, then give her something positive to think about."

"Sure," Chris said. "All night?"

"All night," Aurora confirmed.

"What? no," Serenity protested. "You need sleep."

"Hey," Chis said, putting his finger tips on her mouth to quiet her. "You've been there for all of us and saved thousands of lives. Now let us return the favor." Serenity looked around at all the dragons, and they seemed to agree. She sighed.

"Okay," she said.

"You've never given up on any of us," Tenor said. "Now, we're not giving up on you." Serenity yawned.

"You should get some rest," Aurora said. "Hopefully by tomorrow this will all be over." Chris escorted Serenity back inside. The dragons stayed where they were and talked amongst themselves.

"Would it be so bad to teach her to fight?" Windwalker asked. "You know, defend herself."

"Serenity proves that you don't have to wield a sword or a weapon of any kind, to be a hero," Re said. "And that's one of the things I love about her."

"I suppose you're right," Windwalker said. With that all the dragons turned in for the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Serenity was tortured by more nightmares. She watched, paralyzed as usual, as Chris was strangled to death by Windwalker, who was being controlled by Hael. Then she turned to Serenity, red eyed and growling. Serenity was completely defenseless. She couldn't move to save herself. Windwalker wrapped her tail around her throat and squeezed as hard as she could. This was so terrifying that Serenity couldn't breathe in the real world, due to another panic attack. It caused her to fall out of bed. Chris, who had fallen into a very light sleep, quickly rushed to her side. She was sitting up, wide awake with her hands over her neck.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I, I think so," Serenity panted.

"More nightmares?" Chris asked. Serenity nodded. He helped her back onto the bed and sat next to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Chris asked quietly.

"No, too scary," Serenity said. She took four deep breaths and calmed down.

* * *

"You've had a rough few months," Chris said. "But I think it's going to end tonight." The two of them got back into bed and laid down facing each other. Chris gently ran his fingers along the almost invisible scar on Serenity's face, where she was hit with a shovel when she was little.

"What are thinking about?" she asked, afraid to go back to sleep.

"About the day we first met, as kids," Chris answered. "You looked very different back then."

"The first day of a new life," Serenity said. "I hardly remember my old one now a days. All I remember is the shovel and Ruby." Tears rolled down her cheek. Chris used the edge of the blanket to wipe them away.

"I have a question," she said finally.

"What?" Chris asked.

"If that war with the Song had ended the way you planned and the mountain nest wasn't destroyed," Serenity said. "Would you have stayed there?"

"Yes, that mountain needed me more than Draconia did," Chris said. "But I would have visited, since I hadn't been home in ten years. I would have asked you if you wanted to stay with me." Serenity looked surprised.

"Well, I would have said yes," she said. "That mountain was very pretty. It's a shame what happened to it." She heaved a sigh.

"Well, those dragons have a safer home now," Chris said.

"That's always good," Serenity said.

"Do you remember the night you said you'd marry me?" Chris asked. Serenity nodded.

"It feels so long ago," she said.

"You were very happy then," Chris said. Then for the first time in ten months, Serenity smiled and the fear in eyes was gone.

"There, that's more like it," Chris said, satisfied. Serenity scooted closer to him and he pulled her into his arms. She buried her face into his night shirt.

"Will you promise me one thing?" he asked.

"I suppose," Serenity said.

"Promise me that no matter how bad things get, that you won't take your own life," Chris said. "I love you too much, and I don't want to lose you."

"I won't Chris, I promise," Serenity said. "As long as I have you, Edelweiss, and the dragons I won't." She kissed his cheek. Chris drew back a bit so he could look her in the eye.

"Thank you," he whispered, before he kissed her. She wrapped her hands around his neck. They eventually broke apart. Serenity put her hand on his face. He raised his own hand and held hers in place. He felt her cold wedding ring.

"You feeling better?" he asked.

"Yes, much better," Serenity said. "I still don't want to have anymore nightmares though."

"Just play that night you said 'yes' in your mind," Chris said. "Over and over, until you fall asleep. I'll be right here the whole time I promise." Serenity sighed and she felt so much better when he said that. She closed her eyes and let her mind wonder back in time to the night all her dreams came true. As she fell asleep her mind played it for her.

* * *

She was back at the Draconian castle. It had been a month since they all came back from the Song war. She was in her room, it was sunset. She was so happy, not only because she was home, because all her family was home as well. She still couldn't believe that Chris had been alive all this time and that he was home. Little did she know that her life was about to get even better. She heard footsteps outside her door and a sheet of paper was pushed under the door and the footsteps walked away. Serenity went to pick up the paper. I had a big fancy S on it. She opened it up and read it.

_Come to my room at midnight. I want to ask you something. C_

This sparked Serenity's curiosity. She wondered what Chris wanted to talk about. She thought about going to his room now but decided to wait until midnight. She sat at the Round Table. She stared at it and remembered all the good times she and Chris had on top of it. She watched the dragons outside to pass the time.

Before she knew it, midnight was five minuets away. She readied herself and made her way up to Chris's room. Even after all this time she still remembered where it was. She arrived at his door and knocked.

"It's open," came Windwalker's voice. Serenity opened the door and entered the room. Windwalker was sitting in the middle of the room, looking happy.

"Chris is waiting for you upstairs," she said.

"Ok," Serenity replied. "How are your friends doing?"

"They're much happier now," Windwalker said. "They're still getting used to their new surroundings but they've recovered."

"Oh good," Serenity said.

"Now you better get up there," Windwalker said. "Don't keep him waiting." Serenity went up the small staircase that led to the second floor of Chris's room. It was a slightly smaller room then the one bellow. The only furniture was a huge bean bag chair. A window ringed the whole room and a balcony ran around the outside of the room. Serenity walked out onto the balcony. It was washed with moonlight from the full moon that was in plain sight of the balcony. Chris was looking out at the lagoon, leaning on the railing.

"You wanted to see me Chris?" Serenity said. He turned and looked at her. She was wearing a knee-length blue white dress, with pale blue rhinestones on the hems and waist. Her hair was pulled back in a dragon's tail (a braid). She had a dragonfly hair clip at the top of the dragon's tail. She looked so beautiful in the moonlight, that Chris took a second to reply.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you in one of those," he said.

"I only wear dresses when I'm at home," Serenity said. She stood beside him at the railing.

"So what did you want to ask me?" she asked. Chris sighed, he seemed a bit nervous. "Serenity, I've been been waiting for ten years to ask you this." She stayed quiet waiting for him to finish. He looked her in the eyes and took both her hands in his.

"Will you marry me?" he asked. Serenity blushed and smiled.

"That's one question I thought I would never be asked," she said. She looked at him, still smiling.

"I most certainly will," she said. Chris reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He lifted her right hand and slid a ring onto her her ring finger, she admired it. The band was pure silver. A green and blue celtic dragon was wound around it. The eye of the dragon was on small diamond.

"Wow, it's beautiful," she said.

"Hiccup made it," Chris said. "He made mine as well."

"Such a good person," Serenity said. Chris murmured in agreement.

"I still can't really get over what he did," he said. "Or what he didn't do." Serenity held his hand tightly, her new ring gleamed in the moonlight.

"That's one of the reasons I hate war," she said.

"It's never a good thing," Chris said. "When it does come you have to what's necessary to end it."

"Why does it need to be started in the first place?" Serenity asked. "All it does is hurt people, weather physically or emotionally."

"Ah, that's a very good question actually," Chris said. "People have their various reasons to start a war. I wonder why Hiccup didn't kill that man, it could have saved a lot of lives."

"Maybe he thought it was the right thing to do," Serenity said. "He meant no harm."

"Hmmm," Chris said, thoughtfully. "It seems your compassion is a little too contagious my dear. That's okay though, that's what I love about you." Serenity smiled. Then Chris changed the subject.

"I've been so nervous about this night," he said, with a sigh. "I got through the hard part though." Serenity chuckled.

"Well, this will feel easy compared to when you actually marry me," she said.

"Oh, you're right," Chris said. Serenity laughed and kissed his cheek.

"It's okay, I've never been married either," she said. "I hope I don't look too ridiculous in a wedding dress."

"I think that's impossible," Chris said. "You'll look amazing in a wedding dress." He held her face gently in both his hands and looked into her beautiful green eyes.

"I love you so much," he said quietly. She smiled.

"I love you too," she said, in her honey sweet voice. He was about to kiss her but she beat him to it. She wrapped one arm around his neck and with the other hand she ran her fingers through his hair, holding his face to hers. The kiss lasted for a minuet before they reluctantly broke apart. They held each other close in a warm embrace.

* * *

Serenity woke up still in Chris's arms. It was daybreak, she had let the happy dream carry on the rest of the night. She breathed a sigh of relief. She admired the ring on her finger, it glimmered in the morning light. The celtic dragon seemed to smile at her.

"Thank you," she whispered in Chris's ear, knowing he could hear her. She then snuggled as close as she could to him. She dozed off again, finally at peace.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning the dragons came back up to the balcony to see if Serenity had improved at all. They were very relieved to find out that she was much happier than she had been in ten months. She was smiling and laughing again. She told them about the dream she had and she thanked all her family. But while she was saying all this, Windwalker kept twitching in discomfort. The back of her neck where her saddle sat itched a great deal. She could handle it, for now.

She and Tenor took their riders on a flight over the ocean. They hadn't gone flying like this in a long time. They brought Edelweiss and Black Widow as well. They had a picnic on top of a random sea stack. All the while Windwalker tried to ignore the itching on the back of her neck. She didn't think it was anything serious as she had survived worse injuries.

Meanwhile, Re, Aurora, and their two dragonets flew to Berk to tell them all that Serenity was doing much better. The dragons there were very happy to hear that. Then Gothi wrote in the dirt and Gobber translated.

"She says Serenity should go back to her original family," he explained. "That's where she really belongs, nature put her there."

"What? And have her be hit with a shovel again," Aurora said. "I don't think so. Her family doesn't want her." Gothi wrote some more.

"Well, that's where she's supposed to be," Gobber translated. "Perhaps she wasn't meant to be happy."

"Well she's happy now," Re said. "And there's nothing you can do to change that." He and his family spread their wings and flew back towards Dragon Island.

"Windwalker plans to spar with Tenor this afternoon," Re said.

"Ah, I know," Aurora said. "They have to keep their fighting skills sharp. Who do you think will win this time?" Re considered.

"Don't know," he said. "They're both the best fighters I've ever seen. Let's go find out." They picked up speed and soon landed in their throne room. Apollo and Avalon went to the tide pools where Eider and Black Widow were planning to meet them.

Later that day, Tenor and Windwalker met up at the Dragon Island arena. They both landed in the middle of it, no saddles. Their goal was to bring the other down with as little injuries as possible, and neither of them was allowed to activate their titan wing. The other Draconians, as well as the dragons of Dragon Island, all gathered to watch. The only one who wasn't there was Serenity. She had a habit of running into the arena whenever someone went down, and risked being accidentally hurt or killed. It was a habit she'd had as a child and never grew out of.

The two dragons circled each other, growling and gnashing their teeth. Tenor withdrew his venomous black teeth into his gums, Windwalker did the same. Then they pounced on each other. They slashed at each other with their claws and hard gums. They each tried to get the upper claw. Finally Windwalker pinned him to the ground.

"Ha! gotcha again," she sneered. "No matter how hard you try you'll never win." Tenor sneered back at her.

"That's what you think," he shot back. He then dug his claws into the ground and that enabled him to catapult her off him. He got to his feet and jumped on her. He wrapped all four legs and both wings around her, using his body weight to keep her from getting away. Suddenly she began crying out in pain.

"OWOWOWOW!, GET OFF PLEASE!" she screamed. At first Tenor thought she was just crying wolf to get him to loosen his grip.

"Sorry, I'm not falling for that again," he said.

"No I'm serious," Windwalker said. "My back really hurst." The itching had intensified to unbearable burning. Tenor finally got off and it seemed to make her feel slightly better but her the back of her neck still stung.

"You okay?" Tenor asked, concerned. Windwalker still looked like she was in pain. She could bare it no more and took off. She flew up to Chris and Serenity's room where Serenity and Edelweiss were watching the wildlife. Windwalker landed next to them. Serenity sat up.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"My back, it burns," Windwalker moaned. Serenity put Edelweiss down. The child made a fuss. She wanted to be close to her mother.

"You'll have to wait a few minuets my flower," Serenity said patiently. She pulled the wooden swan toy out of a pouch attached to the chair and handed it to her. It quieted the child for the moment. Then Serenity beckoned Windwalker over. She examined the dragon's back and neck where the saddle usually sat. She saw a few blisters and hot spots on the back of her neck.

"Ooh you have a few blisters," she said. "And hot spots. It's probably from your saddle."

"But my saddle has never caused this before," Windwalker said.

"How long have you had it?" Serenity said.

"All through the Song war," Windwalker said.

"My guess is that it's starting to show its age," Serenity said. "We should probably have Hiccup mend it. Where is it?"

"In my cave," Windwalker said. Serenity got up.

"Will you watch Edelweiss for a minuet?" she asked. The dragon nodded. Serenity went inside her room and went through the tunnel that led to Windwalker's and Tenor's cave. She found Windwalker's saddle and took it off the stone it was on. She went back to the balcony, picking up her trusted medical bag on the way. She sat back in her chair and looked at the saddle. It looked very used. She flipped it over and saw that the leather was cracked and rough. Windwalker looked surprised.

"Oh, I really liked that saddle," she said.

"Don't worry," Serenity said. "It's not going to be thrown out just because it's a little worn." She put the saddle down and opened her bag. She pulled out a bottle of ointment, that had Night Fury saliva as one of its ingredients. She opened it up and pulled out the black brush that was attached to the underside of the lid.

"This will help with the pain," she said. She brushed the ointment all over the blisters and hot spots. Once it was all coated in the ointment Serenity closed the bottle back up and put it away. She pulled out a special bandage that was designed for such injuries and wrapped it around Windwalker's neck.

"There, does that feel better?" she asked.

"Yes," Windwalker said. "That stuff smells horrid but yes." Serenity chuckled and scratched the dragon behind her ears. She purred with pleasure.

"I'm glad you haven't lost your touch," she groaned.

"So am I," Serenity agreed. She scratched the dragon right under her sonar flaps, and Windwalker all but melted. Then Chris landed on the balcony mounted on his uncle.

"What happened?" Chris asked, dismounting.

"My back was hurting really bad," Windwalker explained. "Serenity says I have blisters."

"Oh, I thought you flew off because you were mad at Tenor for defeating you."

"I'm not a poor sport," Windwalker said. Edelweiss got to her feet and ran to her dad smiling big. Chris picked her up and nibbled her neck. She laughed and latched onto his neck. Chris then put her onto his strong shoulders. Windwalker stood next to her mate and Serenity got to her feet. She and Chris turned to go inside but then stopped. He swayed on the spot like he was about to fall over. Serenity quickly became concerned. She got Edelweiss down then supported Chris.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I feel a bit dizzy," Chris said. Serenity felt his forehead.

"Hmm, you feel pretty warm," she said. "Come on you should lay down." She helped him into the room and over to the bed. He sat down really heavily. Serenity gently laid him down. While he was resting Serenity fetched her bag and sat beside Chris.

"You feeling any better?" she asked.

"Yeah," Chris said. "Bit tired though." Serenity reached into her bag and pulled out a flask of water.

"Here drink this, then get some rest," she said. Chris drank all the water from the flask. He didn't realize how thirsty he was. He handed it back and Serenity put it on the night stand.

"Come get me if you feel worse," she said. Chris just nodded as he closed his eyes. Serenity kissed his cheek, then went back outside with Edelweiss and the two dragons.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chris woke up some time later and felt like hell. His head hurt, his mouth was very dry, and every one of his limbs felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. He turned to see a blue china pitcher with an eastern dragon on it and a metal goblet next to it filled with water. He sat up and drained the goblet. It helped a great deal. He then spotted two white pills near the pitcher. Near the pills was a small not that read;

_Take these they'll help you sleep, wake me up if you need me. ❤️S. _

Chris did as the note said. He

drank more water then laid back down. He felt much better, though not 100%. He turned on his side and saw Serenity facing him fast asleep. From the looks of it she was sleeping peacefully and not having any nightmares. The moonlight streamed in through the window and made her face glow white. He gently kissed her cheek, he could tell it registered because she smiled in her sleep. Eventually he went back to sleep, holding her hand in his.

The next morning Serenity woke up before Chris did. She felt his forehead first thing. His fever was still there but not as strongly. She got out of bed and sat in a chair on his side. She saw that the pills were gone and the water in the goblet was gone as well. She smiled, pleased. Vitamin and the other Healer Dragons had discovered pills quite recently. It was a better alternative to liquid remedies as they didn't have to touch the taste buds. Chris woke up as she poured more water into the goblet.

"Good morning," she said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than last night," Chris said.

"You woke up last night?" Serenity asked. Chris nodded.

"I don't know what caused this," he said.

"It just happens," Serenity said, handing him the goblet. "To both humans and dragons." Chris drained the goblet and handed it back.

"I didn't know you did humans too," he said. Serenity refilled the goblet.

"I don't, you're just special," she chuckled. She gave him the goblet and he drained it. He began to feel sleepy again. Serenity let him fall asleep. She refilled the goblet a third time and set on the night stand.

She then went outside to check on Windwalker. She and Tenor had spent the night on the balcony and Black Widow had spent the night in Edelweiss's crib like she often did. Windwalker's blisters were starting to shrink which was a good sign. She put more ointment on the blisters and rewrapped it.

"Someone should take that saddle over to Hiccup and see if he can mend it," Serenity said.

"We're planning to go over there anyway," Tenor said. "You can come if you want." Serenity looked back in the direction of her sick husband and Tenor understood.

"Ah, you probably have enough to deal with," he said. "Well, we won't be long." He and Windwalker spread their wings. Windwalker took her saddle with her. They flew down to the throne room where Re and Aurora were waiting. All the young dragonets were at the tide pools already.

"You okay Windwalker?" Aurora asked, spying the bandages on Windwalker's neck.

"Yes, Serenity fixed me up good as new," Windwalker said, beaming.

"It's good to see her back in business," Re said, as they went back outside.

"As a dragon healer?" Tenor asked. Re shook his head.

"As herself," he said. "So loving and caring." They all murmured in agreement. They took off and headed for Berk.

They flew at a steady pace since they weren't in a hurry. Windwalker kept wincing when her every wing beat made the blisters on her back tingle. Eventually they landed in the plaza. Hiccup was in the forge working on saddles for other dragons. He came out when his allies landed.

"Hello," he said. "Is Serenity back to normal?"

"Yup," Re said, cheerfully. "She's perfectly happy now."

"Anyway," Tenor said. "I wonder if you could fix this saddle, it's starting to give Windwalker blisters." He said this because Windwalker was the only dragon in the group of four that couldn't speak human languages. Windwalker handed her saddle to Hiccup. He took it and examined it.

"I will get right on it," he said. "I'll bring it back when it's finished."

"Thank you," Re said. At that moment Gothi came into the plaza and marched right up to the Draconians. All four of them growled. She began to scribble in the dirt and Aurora used her magic to turn the hieroglyphs into legible words.

"That girl needs to go back to her original family," Gothi wrote. "That's where she's supposed to be." Re snarled.

"She's not going anywhere," he said. "Especially to those humans who put a scar on her face." Gothi scowled at him and shook her head.

"If nature put her there than that's where she's supposed to be," she wrote. "If she's theirs then they can do whatever they want to her. None of these things were supposed to happen to her, you have to take her back now." Re was slowly turning from a noble king, into a wild animal. The other three didn't look happy about this either. Finally Re spoke again.

"Well you can't tell, me what to do," he snarled. "If I want to keep her with us you can't stop me. She belongs to us, and there's nothing you can do about that." He then spread his wings and flew off. The others followed.

Tenor and Windwalker flew back to where Serenity and Edelweiss were dozing off. The two dragons landed as quietly as possible. They thought about telling Serenity what they had just heard but decided against it as it would ruin her good mood. They both laid down beside her chair and dozed off as well.

Later Serenity checked on Chris again. The four young dragonets came to the balcony to play with Edelweiss. Serenity gave Chris more water when he woke up.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Better," Chris said weakly. "My head doesn't hurt as bad."

"You think you can get up and walk around?" Serenity asked. "Fresh air will help."

"I think so," he answered. Serenity helped him out of bed. When he was standing on his own feet he swayed a bit but stayed standing. The two of them joined everyone else out on the balcony. Chris sat in his chair and Serenity brought out the china pitcher and goblet. She refilled the pitcher at a water pump at the back of the balcony. When it was full she put it on a small table next to Chris chair. She then sat in her own chair.

Down in the throne room a bit later, the adult dragons were sitting on the ledge throne. Re was still frustrated that Gothi wanted them to take Serenity back to her original family like she was a library book. He was pacing up and down the ledge throne.

"Will you relax Re," Aurora said. "Serenity's not going anywhere, Gothi can't take her form us."

"But why can't she let Serenity be happy?" Re asked. "She doesn't need that family anymore, she has her own mate and child."

"I don't know Re," Aurora said. "Gothi can't make you do anything." Re stopped.

"Ah, you're right," he said.

"Should we tell Serenity about this?" asked Windwalker.

"No," Re said quickly. "She just got over her ordeal with Hael, I don't want her to suffer from anymore panic attacks or nightmares."

"Good point," Windwalker said.

"If this gets worse I'll send all three of them back to Draconia," Re said. He finally laid down beside his mate. He calmed down but still worried in the back of his mind. He didn't know that things were going to get worse, a lot more than he expected.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chris's fever soon broke and Windwalker's blisters went away. Chris rode her bareback when he and his family went flying together, as his saddle was still being worked on. Hiccup said that he was going to make additional improvements on it so it didn't give Windwalker blisters in the future. Serenity had no idea that Gothi wanted the dragons to take her back to her original family. Re and Aurora wanted her to stay happy and not scare her back into her paranoia. They figured that if Serenity stayed far from Gothi, she would be safe. What they didn't now, was that Gothi had taken matters into her own hands. She had contacted Serenity's original family with one of her Tiny Terrors and told them where their daughter was and what the world knew her as. It took weeks for the family to reply saying they were on their way by boat to get her and bring her back to their house. They had moved since they last saw her, to an archipelago called the Faroe Islands. They would arrive in two weeks and take her back from the dragons. Gothi made sure the Draconians knew nothing of this, she want them whisking Serenity to Draconia where she wasn't supposed to be.

One day Chris went out onto the balcony. He was going to fly to Berk to pick up his saddle. Serenity promised him lunch when he got back. He mounted Windwalker and flew off. Serenity let Edelweiss run around the balcony while she made tuna salad sandwiches. Then Tenor landed on the balcony.

"Tanny!" Edelweiss cried. She ran to the black dragon and hugged one of his front legs. He lowed his head to her and nibbled her neck. She refused to let go so Tenor walked carefully over to his rider.

"Hello," he said. Serenity looked up from the mixing bowel full of tuna and vegetables. "Where'd Chris run off to?"

"He went to get his saddle," Serenity said. "Hopefully it won't give Windwalker anymore blisters." She finished stirring the salad and spooned it in between two slices of bread and cut the sandwich into two triangles.

"Hey Serenity," Tenor said, in a very serious tone. "This might seem like a random question but, would you want to go back to your original family if you had the opportunity?" Suddenly fear returned to her eyes and she traced the scar on her face with her finger.

"No," she said. "They hurt me and I don't know what they'll do to Edelweiss."

"That's what I thought," Tenor said.

"Why?" Serenity asked. The dragon shrugged.

"I was just wondering," he said. "Sorry if it hurt."

"It's okay Tenor," Serenity said. "I wouldn't go back to them in a million decades." Tenor smiled. At that moment Chris and Windwalker came back. Windwalker was saddled again. The saddle now had a lining of soft wool on the bottom of it to prevent blisters. Chris dismounted as Serenity pried Edelweiss off Tenor's leg and held her. She then handed Chris his promised lunch.

Over on Berk a ship was spotted pulling into the harbor. Mulch and Bucket went to inform Hiccup. He told them to see who was in the boat and find out what they wanted. They did as they were told and found that it was a family of five. There was a man and woman in their 60s at least, a blond girl in her late thirty's, a brown haired girl in her early thirty's, and sandy haired boy in his late twenty's. Mulch and Bucket brought them up to the plaza where Hiccup and the other riders waited with their dragons. Gothi was there as well looking pleased with herself.

"Hello," the old man said. "We got a tip from someone on this island that you know where our youngest daughter is."

"We might," Hiccup said. "Who is she exactly."

"We haven't seen her years," the old man said. "A dragon took her when she was very young. She has light brown hair and green eyes, I believe she goes by the name Serenity." Everyone looked surprised.

"You're Serenity's original family?" Astrid said.

"That's right," said the blond woman. "She's my littlest sister. Do you have her or not?"

"You're the ones who hit her with a shovel?" asked Fishlegs.

"Ah, yes," the old man said. "Our village leader made sure we paid for that crime. We want to mend our ways but we can't do it without her."

"Well, she's not here," Astrid said firmly. Her gut feeling told her these people weren't to be trusted with one of the Dragon King's most valuable treasures. "We don't know where she is." The old man considered.

"That's a shame," he said.

"Yeah those dragons keep her location a close secret," Hiccup lied. "She comes here sometimes to spend time with the dragons that live here." He knew it was a bad idea to turn the dragon healer in to people who hurt her.

"Maybe she'll come back," the brown haired woman said.

"We'll make sure you're the first to know if she does," Astrid said.

"Thank you," the old man said. "We'll be on our ship." With that they turned and left. When they were out of earshot Hiccup turned to his friends.

"Should we tell Re and Aurora about this?" he asked.

"Yeah, tell them they should probably send Serenity and her family home safe," Eret said. "It would be a real tragedy if she got hit with the shovel again." At that instant Hookfang spread his wings and took off heading for Dragon Island.

Meanwhile, Gothi went down to the docks where the ship waited. She hopped on board and found the old man and woman. In the man's hands was the same shovel he hit Serenity with when she was little, and he was sharpening it. Gothi went over to him and handed him a scroll of paper.

"What's this?" he asked taking the scroll. He unrolled it and saw that it was a map showing both Berk and Dragon Island. A small caption under Dragon Island that read;

_What you seek is on that island. _

The old man beamed.

"Thank you," he said. "This is most helpful. We won't tell anyone it was you." Gothi nodded and exited the ship. She was satisfied that Serenity was going back where she belonged. Weather her relationship with them was good or bad, nature put her with them in the first place and that's where she was supposed to be. The ship set sail immediately.

Hookfang flew as fast as he could towards Dragon Island. When he got there he flew right into the throne room where Re and Aurora was.

"You majesty," he panted. "I have some bad news, Serenity's original family just showed up on Berk and they're looking for her." Re and Aurora became alert at once.

"How did they know to look on Berk?" Aurora asked.

"They said they got a tip that she was there," Hookfang said. Re seethed in anger.

"It was probably that witch," he growled through his teeth. "She has a real problem with Serenity living with us."

"We better tell Serenity and get her out of here," said Aurora. "Thank you Hookfang." Hookfang gave a quick bow and flew off. Re and Aurora flew up to the balcony where Serenity and Chris were putting a child safety harness on the saddle the Edelweiss was going to learn to ride on. Edelweiss was playing ball with Black Widow. They all looked up when the king and queen landed.

"Serenity, we need to get you out of here," Re said. "Your original family is on Berk and it's only a matter of time before they find you here." Serenity instantly panicked.

"Oh no," she cried. "I knew there was someone else out there. They're going to kill me." She choked out the last part. Chris rushed to her side in case she fainted out of sheer terror.

"How did they find her?" Chris asked.

"Someone on Berk told them where she was," Aurora said. "Our guess is that it was the small witch Gothi. Apparently she's not pleased with the fact that Serenity's living with us and want's to ruin her life." Tenor instantly growled and gnashed his black teeth. Chris could suddenly feel Serenity shaking. He pulled her as close to him as possible.

"Sorry we kept this from you," Re said. "We wanted to avoid panic. We promised we would keep it quiet unless it got worse."

"I hope you have a plan," Chris said, getting angry.

"I do," Re said. "We're going to get you guys out of here and send you back home."

"Um, I don't think that's going to happen," Windwalker said. "Look." She was looking towards the south, towards Draconia. They all followed her gaze and saw clouds blacker than Tenor's teeth. Lighting flashed every second.

"That's a hurricane," said Aurora. "It appears the human god Thor agrees with the witch." Serenity panicked even more, knowing there was no escape. She started crying.

"They're going to kill me," she said again.

"Serenity," Re said firmly. "Come here please." He beckoned with his talons. Serenity went up to him obediently. He used the tip of his tail to lift her chin so she was looking him in the eye.

"Serenity, they won't get you," Re said. "I will kill you myself before I ever let them have you. I know that was a bit dark but that's how determined I am." Serenity started to calm down listening to her father-in-law. Something in his voice made her trust him 100%. But she was still crying out of pure fear. She hugged him and buried her face into his emerald green scales. Re wrapped his wings around her.

"You won't let me go?" she asked.

"No," Re said. "No we won't ever let you go." Serenity took several deep breaths and calmed down.

"We should probably get inside," Aurora said. "That hurricane is almost here and if that family comes here we'll get rid of them one way or another." Re and Aurora flew to the tide pools to get Apollo and Avalon and Windwalker, Tenor, Black Widow and their riders went into their respective rooms to wait out the hurricane.

Just before the storm hit Serenity's former family arrived at the island and made their way into the castle to get out of the rain and wind. They went through the castle and conveniently came out onto the balcony. Suddenly the blond sister looked through the storm-proof windows, she saw Serenity put Edelweiss into her crib made of dragon ribs.

"She has a child?" the sister exclaimed. "But she's a runt, she doesn't deserve that should do something."

"I agree," said the brother. "She's caused us nothing but trouble with those dragons and she's rewarded with a child. That isn't fair."

"Don't worry," the father said. "I have her old friend." He held up the rusty shovel and carefully ran his fingers along its extra sharp edge.

"When the storm is over we'll take the child away from her," the mother said. "Make sure you actually finish the job this time." Then the blond sister saw Serenity kissing her husband.

"What? She has a husband too?" she said shocked. "That is really unfair, how does she get all the good stuff when she did nothing to deserve it?"

"We'll take care of it after the storm," the father said. They turned and hid in the castle. Serenity's biggest nightmare was about to take place.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The storm let out its fury when it hit both Dragon Island and Berk. The dragons all took shelter in the volcano. Most of them slept all through out the storm. Chris, Serenity, and Edelweiss were among them. Then when the eye of the storm passed over, the human family saw their chance to strike. The three siblings snuck into the room where the three Draconian humans were sound asleep. Chris had his arm around Serenity.

"We have to hurry," the brown haired sister hissed. "We don't want them waking up and calling those dragons in here." The blond sister pulled out a strip of cloth, intended to gag Edelweiss. She tip toed over to the crib while her two siblings watched Chris and Serenity for any signs of them stirring. The blond sister quietly tied the gag over the child's mouth. While she was doing that the brother spotted the shiny ring on Serenity's finger. He took his chance, snuck over and carefully slid the ring off her finger. He put it in his pocket just as his eldest sister removed the child from her crib.

"Got it, let's go," she whispered. They snuck back outside and headed to an empty cave where their parents waited.

"We got the child," the brown haired sister.

"Good," the mother said. "It's too risky to head back out now. We'll wait until the storm ends permanently then get out of here Hopefully these dragons stay asleep long enough."

"I also snagged this," the brother said. He held up the ring he stole. "It's pure silver and it has a diamond in it, we could sell if for a good fortune." The father took the ring and examined it.

"Wow, that's a fine looking prize," he said. "Good work." He handed the ring back and the brother put it back in his pocket. They sat down to wait out the rest of the storm.

When the storm ended for good several hours later, the island came back to life. Serenity woke up to bright sunshine. She and Chris sat up feeling refreshed but then Serenity noticed that her wedding ring wasn't on her finger.

"Chris, my ring's gone," she said. Chris became alert.

"Did you take it off?" he asked.

"No, I never take it off," Serenity said. "My fist was closed the whole time so it couldn't have fallen off."

"I'll look for it while you get Edelweiss out of her crib," Chris said. Serenity got out of bed and went over to the crib. To her horror she found it empty. She gasped.

"Chris, she's gone," she said. Chris hurried over to see for himself, and saw that it was true.

"We should tell Mom and Dad," Chris said, grabbing his swords. The two of them ran to the cave where their dragons slept. They woke them up and informed them of the crisis. Black Widow became extremely worried when she heard her rider-to-be was gone. Chris and Serenity mounted their dragons and flew to the throne room where Re, Aurora, and their dragonets were just waking up.

"Edelweiss is missing," Serenity said, worried. The dragons all got to their feet.

"I bet I know who did it," Aurora growled. "Your original family found you. We have to stop them before they get off the island."

"We'll spit up," Re said. "You guys start, I'm going to round up the other dragons." Aurora and her two dragonets took off at once.

"Serenity you should go back to the room," Chris said.

"No," Serenity said, firmly. "I'm going to help find her." She got back on Tenor.

"They'll kill you if they find you," Chris said.

"I don't care," Serenity said. She turned Tenor around and took off. Chris got on Windwalker and took off as well. Re flew all over the island telling the local dragons about the crisis, looking for the intruders in the process.

Serenity and Tenor flew by themselves over the shoreline. They kept their eyes wide open. They kept praying to Lord Draco that Edelweiss was found and rescued in time. Then Serenity spotted the intruders on the other side of the island from the throne room. They were running to where they had stashed their boat. Tenor let out a roar. He didn't dare fire in case he harmed Edelweiss. He swooped down and landed right in their way. The blond sister was holding Edelweiss. She was gaged and crying. Serenity jumped off.

"You!?" the mother shouted. "What do you want?"

"I want Edelweiss," Serenity said, as bravely as she could. "Please don't hurt her." Tenor took a fighting stance, gnashing his black teeth.

"It's not yours anymore," the blond sister sneered. "You cost us our whole lives, you don't deserve this child." She held Edelweiss in front of her body like a shield.

"That dragon better not do anything," she went on. "Our I'll kill her." She unsheathed a fancy dagger and held it to Edelweiss's throat.

"No! please don't hurt her," Serenity begged. "You can do whatever you want to me, just please don't hurt her." Tenor stopped growling. The intruders looked quite surprised. They exchanged a glance.

"Hmm, this is interesting," the father said. "Fine, we'll spare the child if you surrender yourself. If that dragon interferes or tries to get help, the child dies." Serenity took her hat off and put it on her saddle. She bravely walked over to her former family. Tenor moved to stop her but the blond sister pressed the dagger harder to Edelweiss's neck and he stopped. Serenity was instantly grabbed by the father. He pulled her arms behind her back.

"This is for everything you cost us when you went to live with those dragons," said the brother, with more venom than a box jellyfish. They began beating her up. They threw punches and kicks. It soon turned into hitting her with sharp rocks, they were saving the shovel for last. They unleashed all their anger. Serenity didn't scream however, or call for help. She just let it all happen. Tenor could do nothing but stand there, not wanting to risk injury to Edelweiss as well.

The beating lasted for twelve minuets. They used sharp rocks and sticks. Serenity had over a thousand gashes and bruises all over her body. Then when they felt like they had enough, the brother grabbed the shovel which was propped up against a boulder. He walked up to Serenity and used the sharp edge to slice her cheek open, same place as the first time. Then the brother readied it for the kill. He put both his hands on the top of the handle. Then he swung it as hard as he could. Tenor closed his eyes and heard the clang of the shovel hitting it's target. The father threw Serenity to the ground, right in the surf, as hard as he could. He took the shovel from his son and hit Serenity over and over, while the others continued hitting and kicking her. Suddenly the blond sister dropped dead. Tenor turned to see Black Widow emerging from behind a boulder. The young dragonet was hurrying over to calm Edelweiss, who seemed to be unharmed. Tenor let out a loud roar. He unlocked his titan wing and attacked the other intruders. He didn't just kill them, he completely destroyed them. He tore their bodies apart and threw them into the ocean. There was no blood because Tenor's venom had evaporated it all. When the threat was eliminated, Tenor turned his attention to Serenity. She was unconscious and a real, bloody mess. She was laying on her side in the surf, her face was half submerged in the water. Tenor approached her and nudged her gently. She looked dead. Tenor rolled her onto her back, and saw her face. To say she was beaten would be an understatement. Her beautiful face was badly bruised and cut up, her whole head was soaked in blood. Her mouth was bloody as well, indicating broken teeth. The rest of her body was just as bad as her face. Her uniform was badly torn. It was ten times worse than when she first arrived at the Draconian Castle. What bothered Tenor the most though, was that Serenity had willingly taken the beating to make sure Edelweiss wasn't harmed. It was the bravest, and most selfless act of her life, making everything she did before seem minuscule.

"Oh Serenity no," he cried. He laid down beside her. "Please don't be dead." She was in very bad shape, and it didn't look like she was going to pull through. Black Widow was still attending to her own rider. She had removed the gag and was keeping her calm.

Then the other Draconians found them. Tenor got to his feet, really distraught. Chris saw his wife laying as though dead in a pool of her own blood.

"SERENITY NOOO!" he cried. He jumped off Windwalker and ran to Serenity's side. He sat beside her and gently lifter her head.

"No, no, no please no," he sobbed. "Please wake up Serenity, don't die on us. I can't loose you." Serenity wasn't moving and that scared him. He held her body close and just cried. He didn't want to believe he had lost her. She was way more damaged than when she was first hit with the shovel or when she was attacked by wolves. Chris kissed her bloody cheek and held her even closer.

"What happened?" Re breathed out, shocked. Tenor told them all what Serenity just did, and why he couldn't stop it. They were all horrified by his tale. Re was really pissed.

"Gothi will pay for this," he growled. They were all quiet, soaking in the severity of the situation.

"Can you help her Aurora?" Tenor asked.

"I can if she's still alive," Aurora said. "If she's dead, she's beyond my magic." Chris put his ear to Serenity's chest, praying for a miracle. He heard a very faint heartbeat.

"She's alive," he announced. They all breathed a sigh of relief. Aurora stared strait ahead for a few minuets. Then she smiled.

"I can foresee that she will make a full recovery," she said. "All I have to do is heal all the major injuries and Valka can take care of the rest. Of course I don't know when she will recover, could be a long time." The queen quietly approached Serenity. She lowered her head and let out a long, warm breath. Immediately small changes occurred. Serenity's broken teeth fixed themselves, her bashed skill was mended, broken ribs were repaired, and her backbone was fixed. Despite these changes however, she still looked badly beaten.

"We should get her inside," Re said. "Then I'll go get Valka."

"What are you going to do about Gothi?" asked Windwalker.

"Nothing yet," Re said. "When Serenity wakes up, then I'll deal with that." Chris carefully lifted Serenity off the ground and carried her over to Windwalker. The Night Fury knelt down so Chris could set Serenity down on the saddle. He then mounted his dragon behind her. Windwalker got to her feet. Chris held Serenity close to his chest and made her as comfortable as possible.

"Take it easy," he told Windwalker. She nodded and spread her wings. She took off and headed back to her passengers' room. Aurora and Black Widow took care of Edelweiss.

Windwalker landed on the balcony and folded her wings. Chris carefully dismounted. He carried Serenity inside. He gently set her on the bed. He took off her torn-up boots and pulled the blanket over her. Then he sat in a chair beside her head. He gripped her hand in his.

"You'll be okay," he said. "We're going to fix this." He gently cupped her damaged face, careful of the large gash in her cheek.

"Please get well," he said. "I don't want to live the rest of my life without you." At that moment Apollo flew inside. He landed next to the bed.

"Chris I found this on the beach," he handed Chris Serenity's missing wedding ring. It was dirty from being on the ground, but undamaged.

"Thank you Apollo," Chris said. He took the ring and slid it back onto Serenity's finger. Apollo flew back outside.

Chris sat by Serenity's side, watching over her, hoping she would wake up. The other Draconians arrive to see how she was doing. Re flew to Berk to get Valka. She was skilled as a human healer, and doubled as a dragon healer when Serenity wasn't around. When Berk found out what had happened Hiccup promised Re he could deal with it himself as long as no one else was hurt or killed. All Re said was that he would worry about Gothi when Serenity was better. Valka quickly mounted Cloudjumper and flew to Dragon Island. When she got there she politely asked Chris to wait outside, so she could address the wounds on all parts of Serenity's body. Chris knew what she was referring to and stepped outside where the others were. Edelweiss was back to normal and playing happily with the dragonets. The adults decided to wait until she was older before they explained to her what had happened.

They all waited while Valka patched up Serenity. They didn't talk much, all still thinking about the sacrifice Serenity had just given for Edelweiss.

"So what are you going to do about Gothi?" Aurora asked Re. The king considered.

"Well I'm not going to kill her that's for sure," he said. "I'll probably just annoy her into apologizing."

"That sounds more fun anyway," Tenor said. He was haunted by what he saw on the beach and was upset with himself for not being able to stop Serenity from being beaten. No one blamed him though, they sympathized with him, the intruders had had his wings tied. Tenor said that he wouldn't forgive himself until Serenity was better.

Finally Valka came out. They all sat up, feeling very exhausted.

"She's all patched up," Valka said. "It will take quite a long time for all those to go away, and she will still have a scar on her face."

"Thank you Ms. Valka," Re said humbly. Chris got up and went back inside. His poor wife lay on the bed. She was now wearing a plain white dress and wrapped in bandages. There were bandages around both her arms, her forehead, neck, and on her cheek. Chris also guessed there were more bandages under the dress. He sat back in his chair and held her hand.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Serenity stayed unmoving for days. Chris never left her side. Whenever he wasn't sleeping next to her on his side of the bed, he was sitting in his chair on her side. He held her hand the whole time. He also spoke to her, telling her how much he loved her and that all he wanted was for her to wake up. According to Aurora, Serenity could hear his every word. The dragons often spent the night on the balcony. They to wanted Serenity to wake up and be okay.

Re soon started annoying Gothi into apologizing. But as a stubborn viking, Gothi wouldn't say sorry for putting two innocent lives in danger. She kept insisting that Serenity was supposed to be with them and not dragons. She also said that Edelweiss was snatched because Serenity wasn't supposed to have her. Re and his comrades circled her hut making loud screeching sounds and roars. Other dragons joined in, Windwalker was the only dragon not present as she was keeping Chris company. Gothi ignored them. Her Tiny Terrors flew away to Draconia and never came back, they weren't happy about the dragon healer either. More dragons circled the hut, making noise. Every time she came out a dragon dived at her, followed by others. They stole her food and kept putting out her fires. The other vikings didn't back her up. They were all shocked that Gothi would do a thing like that, so they let the dragons get their justice. Eventually she started getting mad and threw rocks at the dragons. This didn't phase them. Tenor shot the stairs that allowed her to get from her house to the rest of the village, keeping her isolated.

At night they dropped rocks on her roof and threw them at her door, keeping her up at night. She still wouldn't apologize and that mad the dragons madder. She started getting violent and swung her staff at the dragonets who were assisting in the protest. When Gothi still wouldn't apologize Re took things to the next level. He, Aurora, and Tenor landed on all sides of her and began circling like wolves.

"Give it up witch," Tenor spat. "You know what we want. Just say you're sorry and we'll leave." Gothi shook her head. Re then pinned her down, knocking her staff away.

"You listen up witch," he roared. "I don't run your life without your permission. You had no right to rat out my dragon healer to those monsters. I don't care if nature put her there, those humans did not want her. Serenity is perfectly happy where she is and if you have a problem with that then you're just going to have to keep it to yourself. Now are you going to apologize or do I have to throw you into my dungeon? I want it written on a piece of paper." He let Gothi go and she got to her feet. She went to grab her staff but Tenor picked it up in his jaws.

"You'll get that back when we get what we want," Re said. Gothi glared at him. Then she went inside her house. Re and his two comrades waited patiently. The other dragons kept circling. Eventually Gothi came out with a scroll. She handed it to Re. He unrolled it. It was written in Gothi's usual gibberish. Aurora used her magic to translate it.

_Alright you win this time. I am sorry for the damage I caused. You're right it wasn't my place to rat her out. I still thing she belongs with those people. But since they're dead I can't make a fuss anymore. I still standby what I said but I assure you nothing like this will happen again._

Re read the paper and seemed satisfied.

"Thank you," he said. Tenor handed Gothi her staff and Aurora used her magic to repair any damage the dragons caused in their protest. Re ordered the dragons to go home. Then the three of them flew off with the scroll.

They flew back to Dragon Island to see if Serenity had woken up yet. They were sad to learn that she was still unconscious. Her injuries were healing but very slowly. The blood had been cleaned off. Chris was still refusing to leave her. Edelweiss was playing with Black Widow.

"When is she going to wake up?" Chris asked.

"I don't know," Aurora said. "She will wake up, so I wouldn't give up on her."

"It's been almost two weeks," Chris said.

"Don't worry Chris," Re said. "She's going to make it. It may take a while but she's going to wake up." Chris gently ran his fingers down Serenity's badly damaged face. It was still covered in many bruises and cuts. Aurora said it would be a really long time before her face returned to normal.

"I shouldn't have let her help," Chris said. "I should have made her stay in the throne room."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, she was doing what any mother would do," Aurora said, sgmpthaticly. "And here I thought she couldn't get anymore wonderful." They all murmured in agreement. Chris leaned over Serenity.

"We're here for you sweetheart," he whispered in her ear. "Like you were for all of us. Please come back to us." He kissed her cheek.

More days went by with no signs of Serenity coming around. With the ordeal with Gothi forgotten, everyone could focus on the dragon healer. The dragons of Berk visited, asking how she was doing. Some of them spent the night on Dragon Island waiting for any good news. Serenity was given water through a tube so she would stay hydrated. It was a good several weeks later before she moved at all.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It was late in the night four weeks after Serenity sacrificed herself for her daughter. Her whole family was either out on the balcony or in her room. Chris had fallen asleep in his chair with his head on the bed. Serenity finally stirred. All she felt was pain in whole body. Her eyes fluttered and opened. She blinked a few times and tried to get her bearings. She could see the moonlight on the ceiling of the room. She turned her head to find Chris sleeping near her. She smiled and gently ran her fingers through his hair. She winced when smiling made her face throb with pain. Chris stirred and sat up. When he saw Serenity awake at last, he looked like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders.

"Thank goodness you're okay," he said, tearing up. He hugged her and she hugged him back best she could.

"I'm so sorry Chris," she wheezed, her beautiful voice was broken and hoarse. "I didn't know what else to do."

"Don't worry about it," Chris said. "You're okay and that's all I care about." He sat back in his chair.

"Is Edelweiss okay?" Serenity asked.

"Yes she's safe," Chris said. Serenity sighed with relief.

"How long was I out?" she asked weakly.

"About a month," Chris said. "You got beat pretty bad. Tenor took care of those monsters." Suddenly Serenity started coughing. Chris poured water into a goblet and helped her drink it, she didn't feel strong enough to hold the goblet by herself. She drained the whole goblet then Chris put it down.

"Are you in pain anywhere?" he asked.

"Everywhere," Serenity said, her voice a bit smoother. It hurt her to even blink. Some of the bruises had gone away but she had been hit so many times that the bruises were stacked on top of each other.

"You'll be okay now though?" Chris asked. Serenity nodded, wincing. Chris held her hand in both of his. He said a quick, silent, prayer of thanks do Draco.

"I'm so glad to have you back," he said. "I thought for sure I was going to loose you." Serenity gently pulled her hand out of his and put it on his face.

"I'm here Chris," she said gently. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere without you, I promise." Chris put his hand on top of hers, holding it to his face. He leaned in and kissed her. She didn't care that it irritated her throbbing face, she wanted him to kiss her no matter how much it hurt.

"When did you get so brave?" Chris asked, after a while. Serenity smiled.

"I don't know," she said. "It just happened."

"You're not going to have anymore nightmares, I'm sure of that," Chris said.

"I'll still have them but they won't scare me," Serenity said. She kissed him again. Then he sat back in his chair again and she laid against her pillows. She saw all the dragons spread out on the floor. She smiled, touched.

"You've all exhausted yourselves," she said.

"We all missed you," Chris said.

"You should go back to sleep," Serenity said. "You look pretty tired."

"I'm okay," Chris lied. Serenity put her hand on his face again.

"Chris, I'm right here," she whispered. "I'll still be here in the morning." He sighed and held her hand to his face.

"Alright," he said.

"Besides, I'm probably going to go back to sleep myself," Serenity said. When she saw the worried look on Chris's face she smiled. "I'll wake up in the morning, I give you my word."

"Very well," Chris said. He kicked off his boots and got into bed beside her. Serenity scooted close to him and fell asleep again. Chris soon followed suit.

True to her word, Serenity woke up the next day. The dragons were up by then and Chris was back in his chair. When they saw her eyes open they all beamed.

"Good morning my dear," Aurora said. "How are you feeling?"

"My face hurts," Serenity croaked. It did hurt, stung really.

"I'm not surprised," Re said. "You got beat really bad."

"Where's my bag? I might have something," Serenity said. Tenor went outside and came back in with the medical bag. He handed it to Serenity and she put it on the bed next to her. She opened it and pulled out a vile of painkiller pills. She took two out. Chris gave her more water in the goblet. She popped the pills into her mouth and washed them down her throat with the water. She put the vile away and closed the bag.

"You should eat something, get your strength back," Aurora suggested.

"Okay," Serenity said. Aurora left the room. Serenity sat up slowly and leaned against her pillows.

"It's good to have you back," Tenor said, nudging her hand. She stroked his snout. "I'm really sorry I didn't stop it."

"It's okay Tenor," Serenity said. "Edelweiss would have been killed if you did anything. I know it was hard." She hugged his head. "I still love you."

"I've never seen you do anything like that before," Tenor said.

"Well, this time was different," Serenity said. "It hurt a lot but it was worth it."

"What I want to know is why?" Re said. "Why would you almost get yourself killed?"

"Pain goes away," Serenity said. "One way or another. Love last forever. I love Edelweiss and would take all the abuse in the world so she can live a full life devoid of it." No one could argue with that.

"When you've eaten something we should get you on your feet," Re said. "The sooner you're back in the saddle, the sooner we can go home."

"Ah, home," Serenity said dreamily. "Everyone's favorite place."

After Serenity ate the chicken sandwich Aurora made her, she felt restored enough to try to stand up. She didn't know if her legs could support her weight. Re told her that her legs were beaten up bad but not broken. She took a deep breath and pulled the blanket off her. She slowly sung her legs onto the floor. Her family was close by, ready to catch her if she fell. With her feet flat on the floor Serenity took another deep breath. Her legs and feet were just as bruised and cut up as her face. She hoisted herself onto her feet. It was like standing up for the first time in her life. She wobbled dangerously. She took one step, then another. It was more of limp as her legs hurt so bad. She took a few more steps and all seemed to be going well. Then, suddenly the room spun before her eyes and before she knew it she hit the ground before anyone could catch her. When she landed on the ground a tsunami of pain shot through her whole body. She couldn't move, she could only cry out in pain. Chris knelt beside her.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"It hurts so bad," Serenity whimpered. "I can't move." Chris rolled her onto her back and helped her sit up.

"Do you want to try again?" Chris asked. Serenity focused on her breathing for a few seconds.

"One more time," she said. "To that chair." She pointed to the chair Chris had sat in while Serenity was still unconscious.

"Will you help me?" she asked.

"Sure," said Chris. He helped Serenity get back up on her feet. The way that she was breathing told them all she was in excruciating pain. Re and Aurora put pillows on the chair so she would be more comfortable. With Chris's help Serenity walked to the chair and sat down.

"That's better," she said. Chris handed her more water and she drank it. Chris got another chair from outside and set it next to hers. At that moment Edelweiss came running in from playing with the dragonets. She ran to her parents.

"Hi Mommy," she said. Serenity ran her fingers through Edelweiss's hair, and smiled at her.

"How are you today my flower?" Serenity asked softly.

"Good," Edelweiss said shyly.

"Where are your friends?" Serenity asked, forgetting her pain for the moment.

"Outside," Edelweiss said. She reached her arms up wanting a hug. Serenity picked her up and hugged her.

"You're getting heavy," she said.

"Is that bad?" Edelweiss asked.

"No," Serenity said. "It means you're growing up."

"Oh," Edelweiss said. She grabbed hold of the dragon scale locket around Serenity's neck.

"She'll be learning to ride next year," Chris said.

"Yup," said Serenity. She reached behind her neck and unclasped the locket. She put it around Edelweiss's neck and secured it.

"Thank you," Edelweiss said.

"Take good care of it," Serenity said. "It's very special."

"Yes Mommy," Edelweiss said.

"Good girl," Serenity praised fondly. She gave Edelweiss a quick kiss on the cheek and set her down. The child ran back outside to play with her friends.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Serenity tried walking after every meal. Her strength was slowly returning to her. Another week went by and her face was finally starting to clear up and the pain was going away. The bandages came off bit by bit. One thing was for sure, her paranoia was long forgotten and not coming back. Once Serenity was walking normal again her family decided to get her riding again. She was very excited about that. She changed back into her repaired riding uniform and Tenor handed her her hat. Then he knelt down, already saddled. Though Serenity was walking again she was still weak and in pain. She carefully mounted her dragon, despite the pain. Tenor heaved himself to his feet and walked outside where the others waited.

"You ready?" Tenor asked.

"Yes," Serenity said.

"We'll fly to Berk and back," Tenor said. "Just to see if you have the strength to stay in the saddle." Serenity nodded and gripped the saddle. Tenor spread his wings and flew off the balcony. Whatever lack of strength Serenity had on the ground, it all vanished in the air. The wind in her face made her feel fully refreshed. She felt no pain, lightheadedness, or fear, she just felt free.

They flew over the ocean and headed towards Berk. They flew over the harbor and over the village. When the dragons saw Tenor fly overhead they knew that Serenity was okay and riding again. Tenor flew to the Golden Apple Tree and landed on the Dragonnip. Tenor knelt down and Serenity carefully got off. He got up again. Serenity leaned on him as the pain came back.

"You okay?" the dragon asked.

"Yeah," Serenity said. "I think I need to sit down." Tenor helped her over to her chair and she sat down. The Berkian dragons landed on the grass.

"Hello my friends," Serenity said smiling. They paid no attention to the bruises on her face, they were just happy she was alive.

"How are you? We heard what happened," said Stormfly. "We were so worried."

"I'm okay now," Serenity said. "I'm still in pain though but at least I can ride."

"Can we do anything for you?" Toothless asked, sitting beside her chair.

"I just need to rest for a while then, I'm going back to Dragon Island," Serenity said. She coughed.

"You don't sound so good," said Skullcrusher.

"I'm still fighting infection," Serenity said. "One of the wounds got infected and I'm doing my best to fight it."

"Why don't you use one of your remedies?" asked Hookfang.

"I do," Serenity said. "That's what I'm fighting with." She leaned back in her chair.

"Which one got infected?" asked Meatlug.

"This one on my leg," Serenity said, pointing to a huge gash on her right shin. It did look infected. Toothless licked it with his special saliva. It stung a bit but Serenity didn't care. When he finished Serenity patted his head in gratitude.

"Thank you," she said.

"How's Edelweiss doing?" asked Belch. "I hope she's not too emotionally scarred by what happened."

"Oh no," Serenity said. "She's happy now." Suddenly the dragons heard their riders calling them home.

"We have to go," Hookfang said.

"We should probably head back as well," Tenor said. Serenity moved to get up. It still hurt a lot to stand up but usually when she was up, she could walk just fine. She heaved herself painfully to her feet and took a second to regain her balance. She limped over to Tenor. Just then the riders came up.

"Oh, hi Serenity," said Hiccup. "Good to see you up and about."

"Thanks," Serenity said. "I'm glad everyone got out of that fine." She leaned her heavy head against Tenor's strong neck.

"What brings you out here?" asked Astrid.

"Getting back in the saddle," Serenity said. "I love flying so much it's worth the pain."

"You still hurt?" asked Fishlegs.

"Yes, but it's getting better," Serenity said. She coughed again.

"That was a very brave thing you did," said Eret. "Taking a beating to secure your child's safety." Serenity smiled quietly.

"Yeah, I don't think I could do anything like that," Hiccup said.

"What you? The one you got hit by lightning to save his dragon from exile?" Serenity said.

"Well, I didn't plan to get hit by lighting," Hiccup said. "We'll let you go now."

"Okay, I'll try to come back tomorrow," Serenity said. "Depends on how feel."

"Don't try too hard," said Astrid.

"I won't," Serenity said. The riders left and their dragons followed. Serenity was feeling tired and didn't know if she could stay in the saddle. Tenor looked at her concerned. She leaned her head on his neck again.

"You think you can mount up?" he asked.

"I don't know," Serenity said.

"Just try," Tenor said. Serenity put her foot in the stirrup. She tried to pull herself into the saddle but was hit be a lot of pain. She cried out and put her foot down.

"I can't do it Tenor," she said, clutching her middle. "It just hurts too much."

"You want to sit back down?" Tenor asked, worried.

"Yes, just for a bit," Serenity said. She limped back to her chair and sat down. Tenor laid down beside her in the Dragonnip.

"I'm amazed you made it this far," he said. "After all the damage you received. It seems our little frightened bluebird has turned into a brave eagle." Serenity smiled through her pain. She then focused on her breathing which had gotten shallow.

After awhile Serenity was strong enough to mount her dragon. Tenor spread his wings and flew back to Dragon Island. When they got there Tenor flew to the throne room where the other Draconians waited. He landed and Chris helped Serenity dismount. She sat in her armchair and Chris sat next to her. Tenor laid down next to Windwalker. Re figured Serenity was healed enough to make the long trip home. Serenity really wanted to go home but didn't know if she could bare the pain. Chris suggested she ride with him on Windwalker so he could make sure she didn't fall to her death.

"That sounds like a better idea," Serenity said. "Edelweiss can ride on Tenor using her own saddle."

"We'll head home tomorrow then," said Re.

"Good, I don't think I can handle anymore riding today," Serenity said. She leaned her head on the side of the chair and started to fall asleep. To spare her the pain of getting up, Chris carried her onto her saddle after Tenor knelt down. When she was secure in the saddle Tenor flew her back to their room. There Serenity got off her dragon and got into bed by herself, though a mountain of pain. She was out the minuet her head hit the pillow.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next day Serenity felt restored enough to put Edelweiss's saddle on Tenor. It fit him perfectly. Serenity's saddle was left behind and would be retrieved when Serenity was all healed. Then Chris put Edelweiss into the child harness attached to the saddle and secured her nice and snug. Then Re, Aurora, Ruby, Harmony, and all the dragonets landed on the balcony. Chris helped Serenity onto Windwalker then got on in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. They all took off and headed for Berk.

They landed in the plaza and Hiccup came out of the forge.

"We're heading home now," Re said.

"Oh, you're not going to wait until Serenity's 100% better?" Hiccup said.

"By that time it'll be winter," Aurora said.

"You know I do feel sometimes responsible for what happened to her," Hiccup said. "If I hadn't suggested you come out here she would have been perfectly safe the whole time, and she wouldn't be this beat up."

"She wouldn't have gotten rid of her paranoia either," Re pointed out. "And for that I thank you."

"Will you let us now when she's all better?" asked Astrid.

"Oh of course," said Aurora. "We appreciate your concern."

"Well, it was one of ours that caused it," Hiccup said. "And I'm sorry about Gothi, she normally doesn't do things like that. What would you have done if Serenity had actually been killed?" Re winced.

"Gothi would have gone straight to my dungeons for murder," he said. "I wouldn't have shed any blood however."

"Okay," Hiccup said. "Good thing Serenity's still with us then." They all murmured in agreement.

"Well, we better get going before it gets too late," Re said. The dragons spread their wings and flew off heading for home.

The 24 hours it took to fly home were pretty long. Edelweiss enjoyed flying solo. Serenity was lulled to sleep by her husband's very special heartbeat. The whole time she felt no pain.

Next thing she knew she felt a scaly nose nudging her.

"Serenity, wake up," Tenor whispered. "We're home." Serenity opened her eyes and saw the Draconian Castle in the early light. The front doors were wide open. Serenity sat up and Chris helped her down. It didn't take long before the pain came back but she could bare it. She and Chris went inside and headed to Chris's room which they now shared, the Round Table and Excalibur had been moved there. It was perfect because Edelweiss slept on the first floor and they slept on the second floor with their dragons.

Chris and Serenity went through the castle, their dragons followed with Edelweiss. When they got to their room Edelweiss was put to bed with Black Widow. Then Chris, Serenity, and their dragons went up the stairs to their respective beds. Once she laid down, Serenity went back to sleep at once. It felt so good to be home and no longer suffering from paranoia. Even though she was still physically damaged and in a lot of pain, she couldn't be happier.


End file.
